Black Friday brings fewer crowds and more online shopping
More consumers than ever are doing their Black Friday shopping online rather than in person.
Walmart shoppers went crazy for Kraft on Black Friday, Nov. 28, snapping up 65-inch boxes of the food manufacturer’s flat-screen macaroni and cheese in minutes.
The special edition product was promoted on social media and in a news release and became available for purchase on Walmart’s website at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday. Walmart told USA TODAY on Dec. 3 that the boxes sold out within an hour.
The never-before-sold box contains 65 small boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese. According to Walmart, this equates to 3.5 servings per box, or more than 227 servings. Customer purchased macaroni and cheese for $19.37, saving over 75% per box.
The company said the giant box of macaroni and cheese sold so quickly because it was a “great product” sold in a “fun, collectible format, with great value.”
Here’s what you need to know about novelty macaroni and cheese boxes and what customers are saying about the Black Friday sale.
What’s in the mac and cheese box next to the Kraft TV?
Last week, social media influencers who were sent 65-inch boxes, including @snachwithzach and @snackolator, shared videos of themselves unwrapping tons of macaroni and cheese and offered to donate some of the boxes to food banks or people in need.
The Kraft Mac & Cheese novelty box lists features such as the noodles’ “4K” rating. It also includes a “Setup Guide” that mimics a real flatscreen and instructs users to:
- Take out the Mac from the box (resist the urge to eat the whole box)
- Share (or don’t share) with friends and family
- Install the display (“cook macaroni” in TV parlance)
- Stream (TV term for “add cheese powder”)
- Enjoy (not all at once)
The internet blames bots for selling out 65-inch mac and cheese boxes
While influencers and some shoppers nabbed boxes of macaroni and cheese, others were unlucky and took their anger out on X. One X user tagged Walmart and said the boxes sold out in two minutes.
“Literally in my cart,” the user wrote with a crying emoji.
Another user said everything was pre-loaded, including payment information and shipping. I refreshed the page until the box was available for purchase, but it was too late.
“Press ‘Buy Now’ and ‘Checkout’ within 10 seconds of availability,” the user wrote. “I didn’t get it yet. I think my toddler would have loved it.”
The reason the boxes sold out so quickly was probably because of “nerds with bots,” wrote a third user.
Will Kraft macaroni and cheese 65-inch boxes be restocked?
Customers also criticized Walmart and Kraft, questioning how many boxes they could buy in the first place.
“I had the Craft 65 pack in my cart as soon as it was released and it was gone before I could hit pay with the instant payment option… it was gone in less than 10 seconds,” wrote one X user. “@kraftmacncheese only made 5 boxes?! Disappointed!”
On Dec. 3, USA TODAY asked Walmart how many boxes it had, but the company said it did not provide sales details.
When asked if 65-inch boxes of macaroni and cheese would be sold again on Walmart’s website in the future, the retailer said it is always working with its supplier partners but had no news to share.
Saleen Martin is a reporter for USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia. – Email sdmartin@usatoday.com.
